


The Marooned Marine

by Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw



Series: February Ficlet Challenge 2019 [17]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Canon Lesbian Character, F/F, Flirting, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 13:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17829077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw/pseuds/Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw
Summary: After a battle at sea, Ashley winds up on a desert island...but she's hardly alone.Pairing: Samantha Traynor/Ashley WilliamsPrompt: Merperson AUBeta by imaginary_golux





	The Marooned Marine

The last things Ashley Williams remembered were the hilt of a corsair’s cutlass to the crown of her head, the dread of falling, and the the icy chill of the water enveloping her. The strong hands pulling her to safety must have been a dream, she decided. And then she blacked out.

“You’re awake,” came a posh voice. “Despite your best efforts to drink the ocean. Are you alright, by the way?” 

Ashley coughed. “I’m fine for now, thanks.” She peeked one eye open. She was on some sort of beach? The memories of last night’s battle came flooding back. “Am I dead? Are you an angel?”

“Why don’t you see for yourself?” The sounds of splashing drew Ashley’s attention to the water. There sat--if that is the correct word--a young female form, her tail curled sinuously beneath her. 

“My god,” Ashley breathed, reaching for the belt where her saber should hang and finding nothing. “A mermaid.”

“I prefer the term merperson,” the stranger corrected her. “It doesn’t imply the same sort of--” she coughed primly “--inexperience.”

_That_ was way more information than Ashley’s sunstroke-riddled brain could process from someone wearing nothing but a tangled cap of dark hair and a belt. “But you’re all supposed to be women,” she blurted out helplessly. The flippant raise of one eyebrow was the merperson’s only response. “Oh. _Oh._ ” She fumbled for composure, adjusted the torn collar of her uniform jacket, and bowed. “Pleased to meet you. Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, Her Majesty’s Royal Marines, at your service.”

The merperson’s tail flipped with ill-concealed delight. “Oh, let’s not be stiltedly formal here; it’s just the two of us. Please, call me Sam.” She clapped her (slightly-webbed) hands together. 

“Where are we?”

Sam shrugged. “I have no idea what your people call the island. I haven’t seen anyone to ask, either.”

Ashley felt her face fall. “So, I’m alone then.”

“Not quite alone,” Sam reminded her. “Sorry, have I been coming on too strong, by the way? It’s always hard to tell with land-dwellers.”

Ashley’s breath stopped short. “Are you?..” Sam nodded. “...with me?..” More vigorous nodding. The human blinked. 

Sam frowned at her hesitation. “Definitely too strong. Damn.” She fished in her belt pouch for what looked to Ashley’s eyes like a set of chessmen, except that they had been sculpted from third-hand descriptions. “Do they teach you strategy games in your military?” the merperson asked, eyes shining. “Because we could--”

“I’d love to play,” Ashley told her, and sat down in the sand. “You’ll probably have to fill me in on the rules, though.” She couldn’t help but smile as Sam began to explain how the different pieces moved. If she was going to be stranded on a deserted island, at least the company would be good.


End file.
